We had such a blast up in Michigan these past couple weeks and built memories to last a lifetime! The trip was everything that we had hoped it would be. I am so proud of my parents for fulfilling one of their lifelong dreams to have a summer home back up in Michigan, where they both call home. This was the first of many annual summer vacations at the lake!
Natalie's first airplane ride! It went smoothly, and she slept during a lot of it!
Wed, July 26. Day 1: Arrived at the house in the middle of the afternoon and played with cousins!
Uncle Neil and family arrived a few days prior to us and planned to leave a few days after us (as to allow for enough time for us all to hang out but not too much time to be chaotic with too many people under one roof!) Nico had a blast playing with Caitlyn and Alex, and it didn't take him more than a minute to get his swimsuit on after arriving. The freezing water didn't stop them from jumping in 100x off the dock.
That wiggly tooth finally is out! He is so proud.
There was plenty of backyard wiffle ball played on this trip!
Beautiful home. Beautiful view. Never seen prettier water!
Thursday, July 27. Day 2: We spent a lot of time on the boat in the first part of the day, and Caitlyn and Nico tubed. We went to Shorts Brewery for a drink and ate dinner at Alden Bar and Grill for my dad's big 60th birthday!
Haaaaappy birthday to you...
It was sweet timing that my dad could celebrate a milestone 60th birthday while living in a milestone moment of being surrounded by family in this home. These are the kind of moments that he had likely been imagining for quite some time.
Getting a little crazy on the last night with Neil and fam... ha! Classic.
Friday, July 28. Day 3: Nico's 6th birthday! Nico spent the morning helping Grandpa decorate his cake. We had a wild and fun boat trip later that afternoon (busted out the Fireball!...), and then, we mostly hung around the house for birthday festivities and pizza!
Playing the Longhorns fight song as we pulled out of Dockside. Seemed funny at the time?! Ha!
"Fireball...."
The highlight for Nico was that he got a bike to keep at their place! He was pumped and ran over to hug them right away and thank them! He went on bike rides with Grandpa just about every day that we were there.
Another singing of Happy Birthday and cake!...
Sat, July 29. Day 4: Charlevoix day! It's such a cute little city to walk around in. The girls and kids walked around little shops while the guys stuck together and grabbed a drink.
After lunch, we stopped by the beach! Nico enjoyed trying to push Grandma in the water and threw the football with Uncle Ryan.
Sunday, July 30. Day 5: Picking berries, boat day, Alden Bar and Grill for dinner, and late night smores. Ryan and JHam's last day!
Natalie was SO into the ducks! She would point and sound out "duh, duh duh!"
They were low on cherries at the local orchard, so we settled for picking raspberries instead!
Monday, July 31. Day 6: Took Ryan and Jess back to the airport in the middle of the day. It was a rainy day, so we couldn't do much shopping or walking around in Traverse City like we had hoped. We had lunch at Mackinaw Brewing Co and had an indoor day back home! It didn't stop us from an ice cream run later that night though (which we did about 4-5x during the trip!)
Tuesday, Aug 1. Day 7: I had a day date with my mom for lunch, shopping, and a pedicure in Elk Rapids! The guys/kids stayed around the house, and Natalie took her first dip in the lake.
Tuesday, Aug 2. Day 8: It was a rainy morning and perfect to stay inside and play games/with birthday toys, and read. We ventured out to go bowling in the afternoon, and to Shorts Brewery for dinner!
It was about this time in our trip that Natalie began to walk! She had taken a few steps here and there over the past few weeks, but now, she decided to regularly walk around their house! Yay!!
Here's a video of her taking off...
Wed, Aug 3. Day 9: One of my favorite days of our trip, because we got to see my grandparents! We drove out to their apartment to visit, went to lunch at Cracker Barrel, and stopped by Derek Jeter Field for Nico. It was their first time meeting their great granddaughter too! They both look great, and I wish we could see them more often.
Thurs, Aug 4. Day 10: Date night for David and I. We went into Elk Rapids with the intent of all going to Harbor Days, but the rain changed our plans. Luckily, my mom and dad came to the rescue and agreed to watch the kids, so David and I could have a nice dinner and a few hours alone! We hung out at a cute winery followed by an amazing seafood dinner!
Our DD came to get us, and that turned into a little more bar hopping! Fun night!
Fri, Aug 5. Day 11: The Sand Dunes and more! This was one of the few items that was on our list that we wanted Nico to experience. I remember climbing these as a kid (and even more fun, trying to sprint down and coming up with a mouthful of sand!)
We stopped in the cute little town of Leland for a bite to eat and some shopping.
A majority of the car napped on the hour drive back, and I'm glad I stayed awake to take in the scenic lake views! There were so many cute little towns as we made our drive town the peninsula. Since we hadn't worn the kids out enough that day, we stopped at the Elk Rapids Harbor Days to ride a few festival rides.
Sat, Aug 6. Day 12: Breakfast at Mama's Country Kitchen and some light shopping in Alden. Another lake day! We parked it at the Sandbar today for a few hours. Par-ty!
Sun, Aug 7. Day 13: Our last day here! We spent the day playing outside, took the boat out briefly, and David's college baseball friend, Mike, stopped by to visit that afternoon.
It was sad to return home, and my dad even shed a tear when he had to say goodbye. So thankful for our time together and what a memorable first family vacation to the lakehouse!
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